Category: health & safety

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bushwhacking Olympic Peninsula, Washington

On the Freezer Bag Cooking blog I learned of an amazing hiker named Mike.

Mike does trips I don’t even want to dream of. The thought of fording the Queets River in the Olympics multiple times in a day, to find an elusive waterfall is something I don’t think I will ever be capable of!

Mikes spent 31 days in 2004 crisscrossing rugged, remote wilderness, often solo, often off trail.

He’s put up an excellent new website called Mike’s Rain Forest Treks.

The first of a series of planned photo trip reports is already posted. Detailed and inspiring.

My big-picture plan for the next month will take me on a disjointed spiral around the west side of Olympic National Park’s million-acre wilderness. My route is varied enough to explore all the major ecosystems of the world’s most ecologically and geologically diverse slice of land.

Starting out in typical northwest spruce and fir forests, I will see the park’s high alpine playgrounds, its extensive coastline beaches, its uncannily immense glaciers, and it’s most prized treasure… the finest remnants of old-growth temperate rainforests left in the world.

The route has been split into three manageable “legs,” ending with a 16-day mega-trek through the most remote and untouched off-trail wilderness in the entire park. These first two legs (each a week-long trip) will be a fantastic “warm-up,” a way to strengthen my legs and awaken my soul before testing my limits.

2004 Olympic Solo Trip

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daunting remote trails in Fiordland, New Zealand

Fiordland (like S.W. Tasmania and Patagonia) on the S.E. corner of the South Island is astonishingly unvisited. For good reason.

200px-new_zealand_map.gif… Fiordland National Park, which has an area of 12,120 square kilometres, making it the largest national park in New Zealand and one of the larger parks in the world. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the Southern Alps and its ocean-flooded, steep western valleys. Situated within Fiordland are Browne Falls and Sutherland Falls, which rank among the tallest waterfalls in the world.

The name “Fiordland” comes from the now-common variant of the Norwegian word “fjord”. Fiordland features a number of fiords often misnamed sounds, of which Milford Sound is the most famous, though Doubtful Sound is even larger and has more and longer branches.

Fiordland has few human inhabitants and is the least-populated area of New Zealand … and many areas almost inaccessible except by boat or air. Te Anau township, the only larger settlement close by, has under 2,000 permanent habitants, though it boasts around 3,000 tourist beds.

Fiordland – Wikipedia

This region is ideal for those who are looking for a real trekking challenge. (The sandflies alone were enough to drive me off.)

An article called Hidden Valleys of Fiordland, a bushwhack to George Sound, may be enough to scare you off, as well:

It all began on the shores of Lake Te Anau at a pessimistic looking information sign. The town of Te Anau is shown to sit in a rain shadow, with an average rainfall exceeding that of the legendary Milford Sound. We then knew the full extent of what to expect, as one trip member, John, put it “This is possibly the wettest trip we could attempt, except maybe a traverse of the lake bed!”

Hidden Valleys of Fiordland

Fiordland is drenched. Even the well established hikes (Hollyford, Kepler, Routeburn, Milford, etc.) are challenging in the rain.

Choose a more remote track — Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound would be our first choices — and you are up for a memorable trip.

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Te Anau area hikes – Dept. of Conservation

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Doubtful Sound – original – flickr

See our entire list of the best hikes in New Zealand.

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Google Earth adds hiking trails

Real time GPS navigation by mobile phone getting closer to reality.

Want to scout out some hikes before your next trip? Google Earth’s new layer has hundreds of them.

Specifically, the Trimble Outdoors Trips layer features GPS-marked trails for activities including hiking, biking, backpacking and running.

The info includes directions to trailheads, a difficulty ranking, and notes on interesting sights to see along the way. Some legs also include photos, audio and even video clips.

But here’s where it really gets interesting: One click sends the trip info straight to your phone–and if it’s a GPS-enabled phone, you can get the actual coordinates as well (as opposed to just the map).

Users can, of course, submit their own hike routes as well. …

Google Earth adds hiking trails – Lifehacker

Thanks Warren.

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where NOT to hike – Saul, French Guyana

Two French hikers who got lost in thick jungle in French Guiana survived for seven weeks by consuming turtle meat, big hairy spiders and river water.

The men were rescued on Thursday, exhausted and dehydrated.

Loic Pillois and Guilhem Nayral disappeared on 14 February, having set off from the Grand Kanori rapids bound for the village of Saul.

Guilhem’s brother Gilles said “they ate palm seeds, insects, mygales (big spiders) and two turtles” to survive.

Mr Pillois, 34, emerged at Saul at 1000 (1300 GMT) on Thursday and told the authorities that his friend Guilhem, 34, was about six hours’ walk away to the south, the French news agency AFP reported.

Rescuers found him and brought him out by helicopter. One of them, gendarme Martin Andre, said Guilhem was “stretched out on the ground, completely exhausted, very thin, dehydrated”.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Lost Frenchmen ate jungle spiders

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original map – Lonely Planet

(via WildrLog)

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wet feet trekking Greenland

Christian Davies from Denmark recounts a 180km (112mi) trek from Kangerlussuaq (Sdr. Stromfjord) to Sisimiut (formely Holsteinsborg) on the west coast of Greenland.

One hiker had to be left behind.

His feet were all swollen and had deep blisters. Although we were so close to our destination we couldn’t tell for sure how long time, it would take to walk the last part of it.

The pace was about 1 km/h and it could be even lower for the last part. We shared our rations and made sure that he had food for 4 days and we all said goodbye to him. That was one of the most surrealistic thing I ever have experienced.

To finish the story shortly, everything went well and we got to the town. The one we left was brought home on a snowmobile by one of the locals in town.

After all this struggle and all these days with wet feets and the freeze dried food, I still miss that magical moment from that time. Non of us will never forget what we experienced together.

As for the picture goes, it shows a moment where we all were very tired and a bit exhausted, but there was still energy to take pictures and enjoy the moment.

Live Your Life

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South Coast Track, Tasmania – trip report

We’ve just posted another information page — The South Coast Track in Tasmania. It’s a classic, often compared often with the Kokoda Trail in Papau New Guinea. (They are both muddy.)

The best trip report we’ve found was not our own, but the photo journal posted by Evan of Getting There is Half the Fun.

Most hikers fly in to the trailhead at Melaleuca, as Evan did. (Most manage not to vomit up their breakfast, however.)

His group got the typical Tassie weather:

We spent 8 days in the bush, of which it rained for 7, sometimes heavily.

Soon we had our first of many creek crossings. Our boots stayed wet for the rest of the hike.

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If you can handle rain and mud, Tasmania is a fantastic hiking destination.

You must be self-sufficient. There are no Rangers, huts or emergency phones. The South Coast Track is 83km (51.5mi).

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This was the only day where it was hot enough to bring out the ‘muscle shirt’. The sun only lasted 2 hours though:(

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Evan

Check the rest of his trip report and photos – Getting There is Half the Fun.

South Coast Track information page – besthike

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10 day vehicle survival kit – $25

yago104-2.jpgJeffrey Yago posted a good reminder for outdoor enthusiasts.

Be ready in case of accident in the wilds. Or, more likely, in the event you are called on to help someone less experienced in the wild.

You MIGHT question his math, however.

It seems like every winter there are news stories of people getting stranded for weeks in bad weather while driving through the many remote areas of our country. In fact, this past winter, our nation held its breath waiting for news of James Kim and his family who got lost traveling the snowy roads of Josephine County in Oregon …

While his wife and daughters, who stayed with their vehicle, were eventually found alive, he succumbed to the cold as he hiked through snow looking for help for his family. And there are also many cases of people trapped for days in their vehicles after skidding over a bridge embankment, even though they were only a few hundred feet from a busy highway.

10 day survival pack for your vehicle for just $25

(via Lifehacker)

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with kids on the Routeburn Track, New Zealand

Margaret Pincus posted an entertaining trip report on the Australian website.

We are on day two of New Zealand’s spectacular Routeburn Track, which wanders between the Mt Aspiring and Fjordland national parks in NZ’s Southern Alps through some of the most inspiring wilderness left on earth.

The walk is universally regarded as one of the 10 best in the world. For three days we will hike hut to hut between the Holyford and Dart valleys, through high mountain peaks and deep mossy valleys and alpine lakes.

Not universally regarded, actually. (see our list of the top 10 hikes in the world). But we won’t protest too loudly. Routeburn is fantastic. And much less expensive than the Milford Track.

We (me, my husband, our four children, and one aunty) set off in brilliant sunshine. We start slowly, like a family of snails creeping up the path, stopping every 10 minutes to retie shoes and adjust backpacks.

The Australian

Hiking with children can be challenging. Especially when Margaret’s family ran out of food!

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Routeburn Valley, by Justin de Booy (Garion88) – flickr

more Routeburn photos – flickr

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girls love Paine Circuit, Patagonia, Chile

Recently a friend asked for a “best hike” recommendation for a female hiker, possibly travelling alone. She is very experienced with many serious treks completed in Europe and the States.

Immediately we suggested The Towers of Paine in Chile.

Paine is well policed and maintained. It is safe. No need to speak Spanish, though it helps.

As evidence, we link to a charming and entertaining trip report from two young women who just completed the most demanding itinerary, the Circuit. They LOVED it:

HIGHLIGHTS:

* Ascending John Garner Pass for a devastatingly beautiful view of Glacier Grey below on one side and Lago Paine on the other. I moment I will never forget.

* Eating chocolate surrounded by the Valle de Frances

* Seeing three shooting stars cross the Milky Way and a comet (and I was totally sober), whilst lying on a swing bridge, with a very energetic river flowing below us

* Drinking Pisco with Cowboys in the sunshine

* Making friends with Porters (Sherpas) and sharing our walks with them

* Watching ice bergs float past our tent whilst making a lovely cuppa tea snuggled up in my sleeping bag!

* That Condor moment! Seeing Condors sore majestically above the snowy peaks of Torres del Paine

* That vegetarian sandwich at Camp Chileno!

* The best drinking water in the world on tap! (We drank only the water that flowed through the Parque; no boiling no purification tabs). Ah, agua nectar!

* Realising what we thought may have been a clap of thunder and so the start of a wet day was only another ice berg making a splash into Lago Grey.

* Realising what we thought may have been another clap of thunder was merely another avalanche in the Valle del Frances.

* Meeting the boys from Ecuador at Camp Japonese (a camp only for climbers).

* The satisfaction of completing The Circuit when a lot of the locals thought we may be clinically insane!

Sophs in South America: Torres del Paine Circuit, Southern Patagonia, Chile.

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organize a trip to Paine, Chile – besthike.com

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“Peru Gets Tough On Tourist Attacks”

Rick McCharles

The Adventure Blog posted on an MSNBC.com report on “Peru cracking town on attacks against tourists”.

This caught my interest as I was on the Huayhuash Circuit in Peru in 2004 when an Israeli trekker was shot and killed by bandits.

A new law passed by the Peruvian congress make the maximum penalty for murder or severely injuring a tourist is now life in prison. The law covers both foreign and Peruvian tourists visiting sites in their own country. Armed robbery against tourists is fairly common in the country and in 2005 there was a fairly well publicized event in which 13 tourists on the Inca Trail were robbed. Since then, the goverment has begun getting tough on crimes against tourists, even taking the step to patrol the Inca Trail and increasing the security presence at Machu Picchu.

The Adventure Blog: Peru Gets Tough On Tourist Attacks

Peru could be the best hiking destination in the world. … Could be.

But we’d recommend you hike New Zealand instead if security is a big concern.